RAFA BENITEZ admits Liverpool FC must cure their travel sickness if they are to have any chance of future glories.

Hopes of silverware this season hang in the balance after Benitez’s men were beaten 1-0 by Atletico Madrid in the first leg of their Europa League semi-final on Thursday.

It continued Liverpool’s poor record on the road this season, with the Reds having won only seven of 27 away games.

And Benitez accepts he must address the away-day failing that has severely undermined his team’s efforts both at home and abroad.

“That record suggests we have not been good enough away from home and have to improve, it’s true,” he said.

“In Madrid it was a pity because we couldn’t get the away goal – but we have to be more solid and stronger. That’s mentally, physically.”

Liverpool have won only four away games in the Premier League this season – the same total as Bolton Wanderers and Wolverhampton Wanderers.

They will hope to improve on that figure when they visit Burnley tomorrow, where victory would take Benitez’s men to within a point of effectively sealing seventh place and European qualification.

Liverpool arrived back on Merseyside in the early hours of yesterday morning after their arduous journey to Madrid.

The performance at the Vicente Calderon suggested the players had suffered from the effects of their 24-hour trip to the Spanish capital, with both Javier Mascherano (hamstring) and David Ngog (calf) the main injury concerns.

And Benitez is likely to rest a few players ahead of Thursday’s return game against Atletico at Anfield, with Maxi Rodriguez, Ryan Babel, Alberto Aquilani, Philipp Degen and Dani Pacheco vying for a starting role.

“We will see after they have rested, and must talk with each one before we decide, but we don’t have too many options,” said the Liverpool manager.

“We’ll work hard to give them as much time to recover as possible, controlling nutrition, drinks, things like that, to make it as easy as we can for them.

“I want to be positive, and at least we will go back by plane when we were expecting it would have to be train again.

“And there’s a bit of time between the games so hopefully the players will be in a better condition in a couple of days.

“Ngog had a bit of a calf problem and at half time the doctor said maybe we would have to change him, so we will have to see how he is.”

Martin Skrtel, Emiliano Insua and Fabio Aurelio remain sidelined it was the absence of Fernando Torres that was most keenly felt by Liverpool on Thursday, the striker out for the rest of the season following knee surgery.

Torres’s future was the subject of further speculation before the game when Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini declared his interest in the player.

Benitez, though, has no intention of selling Torres, and said: “There are some things in football that you cannot change. I wasn’t happy about it but when you talk to Fernando, I think he’s happy so hopefully everything will be okay.

“It does happen at times but I’d prefer to focus on my team because we have some important games to play.”

Benitez also revealed he has yet to hold talks with new Liverpool chairman Martin Broughton, who has been brought in by American co-owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett to sell the club.

“I haven’t spoken to the chairman yet, hopefully next week,” said the Spaniard.

He added: “At the end of the day I have to prepare for games, so it’s not a big thing for me.”